This is a topic I don’t recall seeing in articles on websites because it talks about the lack of value of an article on a website. These words can only have so much of an impact. We say that words are powerful, which they can be, but at the same time, they don’t pack a punch like experiences do, and so words on most websites don’t have the impact we assume they would.
When you read what I have written on this site, you may read it in two minutes, or skim it for thirty seconds, and then can forget all the content as quickly as it entered your thoughts. There isn’t any accountability or check-up on whether you gained insight from my thoughts and reflections.
This is why video is popular online and offline. We can hear a person’s words and also see what they doing. We are able to better connect with their message. However, there is still no pressure put on us, and there is basically no accountability. If someone makes a suggestion to us in a video, who are they to know whether we made use of it or not. This is fine for the few who are pro-active, but for the many who haven’t built up their pro-activity yet, my helpful words and the helpful videos of others are lost into thin air.
Where is accountability in place? One main place where it occurs is from a parent to their child. Improvement comes from a reasonable amount of stress and pressure mixed with a good example. I can provide a good example with words on this site, but I can’t provide any stress or pressure on you readers to perform some action. I can allude to forms of stress of pressure by trying to scare you into thinking you will be in trouble if you don’t do this or that, but that is about it. A parent has much more control of the lives of their children, and so the stress and pressure necessary for learning is already in place.
My words can be ignored by anyone because it is not like this site pays your bills or gives you a school degree or cooks you dinner. The same is true of those who give large speeches. As much as a speech to 10000 people can have a moving impact, a huge amount of the people listening to it will not implement anything based on the messages in it. Listening to a speech is generally a voluntary task, and so it is often taken as an entertaining event to take part in, and the message of action is not acted upon.
What am I saying here? I am saying that my words to you on this site can only have so much of an influence, because influence comes from power, and I don’t have power over you. This is not only true for my site, but for multitudes of sites on the internet. I have noticed some folks that try to feign powerfulness, and make the reader feel as though they better get on the bandwagon or get left behind, which is always entertaining to see, but the message behind most of that type of content is mediocre at best.
Thanks for reading.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey Armen,
This is something I have been thinknig about too. I have a lot of blogs in my RSS reader, and most of the articles I read are not very inspiring. I think the best service we can provide as a blogger is to inspire others to action. We’re not in the business of forcing people to be better, even if we had the power to do so. They way I see it is that we are more about inspiration than we are about influence. We should focus on providing content that is entertaining and inspirational.
I feel pretty good any time I’ve inspired someone to make even the smallest change if it means an improvement in their lives.
Eric | Eden Journal´s last [type] ..Life Lessons – The Metaphor that Became Reality
Twitter: Armen
May 26, 2011 at 11:40 am
Hey Eric.
We are thinking about the same topic here, but have differing thoughts about it. I don’t want to make a minimal contribution to someone’s life with my words here. If I’m not making money or making a huge contribution to people’s lives, it’s not good enough. I’m one of the most interesting people in society in physical form, but online I turn into “just another site-writer”.
We have to be harsh and direct about these things or we end up as something we are not.
I do appreciate your viewpoint though. Thanks for your thoughts.
Twitter: Op_Life
June 1, 2011 at 1:52 am
Hi Armen,
The words on the web should be always inspiring or should teach us something etc. But there are many cases when it isn’t so. I’ve come across many websites where nobody can find anything good for him, where the information is given only for search engines but not people. And it is very sad…
Thanks a lot for this article and your thoughts!
Roman Soluk´s last [type] ..Money – Good or Evil
Hi Armen,
you don’t have any power on me. That’s true,isn’t it? Anyway you influenced me, this wasn’t the first time and not the last I am sure. Thanks!
Jussi´s last [type] ..Best Way To Make Money Online…NOT a get rich quick scheme
words inform, articulate, entertain enlighten or inspire. they express emotions. convey ideas. tell stories. words are merely visual symbols of our phonetic speech, but at the end of the sentence or paragraph, it’s the meaning that counts. sure words tag data too.. but it’s only the tip of the iceberg.
-Mark
_mark´s last [type] ..I can dream- can’t I
Hi,
I am not sure I agree that words have less impact than deeds. On meeing Harriet Beacher Stowe, Abraham Lincoln said something to this effect: “So this is the little woman who started this great war.” In the decade following the publication of Uncle tom’s Cabin, public opinion in the north turned against slavery, largely as a result of her book.
The reason for her impact? I believe it was a result of her authentic and passionate belief that slavery was evil.
To conclude, when you write from the deepest part of your nature, people will always respond.
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